Stanley Elkin on What God and Writers Have in Common

I love this quote from author Stanley Elkin,

"Why did you put so much suffering in the world?"
And God answered,
"Because it makes a better story!"

I think this makes perfect sense. Stories are what makes life interesting and a kindly creator would never subject us to a boring existence.

Keep the ideas flowing, your fingers on the keyboard and the dream alive.

Please feel free to share your thoughts on this or on anything else
 related to writing. Also please share this blog with your creative friends

Thanks

Jim Busch for the LVW

Mary Pipher on Stories

"Telling stories never fails to produce good in the universe!"--Mary Pipher

Psychologist and writer Mary Pipher is a great believer in the power of story to improve the world. She made this quite clear in her book "Writing to change the world." Each time we sit down and write a story, a poem or an essay we make the world a little better because we help people to connect with one another.

Keep your fingers on the keyborad, keep the ideas flowing and your dreams alive.

Thanks

Jim Busch for the LVW

George Orwell on what makes writers special.

"There is also the minority of gifted, willful people who are determined to live their own lives to the end, and writers belong in this class." George Orwell

George Orwell was a remarkably observant man and an amazing writer. I believe he is absolutely correct in his assertion that writers are by definition individualists. It takes a strong ego, and I use the term in the best sense of the word, to be a writer. People lacking the confidence and the pluck to follow their own path will never write. They lack what it takes to ignore critics and those who say they will never to succeed to pursue their art. 

Thanks for reading this blog. Keep the ideas flowing, your fingers on the keyboard and your dreams alive!

Jim Busch for LVW

Ray Bradbury on the Writer's Art

"We never sit anything out. We are cups and are constantly being filled. The trick is knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out."--Ray Bradbury

This quote is taken from Ray Bradbury's wonderful book, Zen and the Art of Writing. Every human that ever lived collects experiences and insights as they pass through the world. As Ray Bradbury noted above, the thing that sets writers and artists apart is that we know "how to tip ourselves over." We share our experiences with the world to let others know what a beautiful experience life is. Like one of my college writing teachers once said, "the only thing different about writers is that writers WRITE!"

If you have any thoughts on this post we'd love to hear them, please feel free to post your comments.

Thanks for reading this blog. Keep your ideas flowing, your fingers on the keyboard and your dreams alive.

Jim Busch

  

Ligonier Valley Writers to host creativity workshop

Here is a post from Judith Gallagher:

Judith Vollmer to Teach LVW Workshop on Creativity

"Everything in life is writable about if you have the guts and the imagination. The worst
enemy of creativity is self-doubt," wrote Sylvia Plath, who was no stranger to either creativity
or self-doubt. If you're wrestling with how to write something, whether it's a poem, a story, a
memoir—anything, join us for a workshop that will help you conquer self-doubt and access your
most creative self.

Ligonier Valley Writers presents a creativity workshop by award-winning poet Judith
Vollmer at the Ligonier Valley Library (120 E. Main St.) on Saturday, November 9, from 2:00 to
4:00 p.m. The talk is free and open to the public.

The workshop will feature two prompts. “I’m inviting writers to make poems that bring
to life on the page more than one element of craft," says Vollmer. "So, rather than simply telling
a story or describing a set of images, we’ll use a toolkit that holds several kinds of strategies. I
want poets to feel that they can do more than they thought inside a poem, since a poem as it’s
being composed can surprise us with invitations, detours, and mysteries.”

Judith Vollmer is the author of five books of poetry, including most recently The Water
Books, published by Autumn House Press in 2012. Her previous collections have won the
Brittingham, the Cleveland State, and the Center for Book Arts prizes. Her book Reactor, which
explores place and devastation, was nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award and
was featured in the Los Angeles Times Book Review. Vollmer is a recipient of the Chancellor’s
Distinguished Teaching Award of the University of Pittsburgh. Her web address is http://
www.judithvollmer.com.

For more about any LVW events, publications, and contests, visit www.LVWonline.org.

Interesting question for writers!

Here is a question from Handling the truth...on the writing of memoir by Beth Kephart that I think should be asked by all writers.

What do you expect of others as you read, and what do you expect of yourself as a writer?

She poses this question to the students in her memoir class and her book includes a number of their responses. I like this question because expectations often decide outcomes. If we have a clear understanding of what we want to accomplish when practicing our craft, we are much more likely to accomplish our goals. I believe that our answer will change as we evolve and grow as writers, so we should ask this question of ourselves again and again. 

Thanks for reading. Keep your mind working, your fingers on the keyboard and your dreams alive!

Jim Busch

Why are writers like the NSA?

Why are writers like the NSA?

Writers and the National Security Agency like to eavesdrop!

Writers are keen observers of human interactions. They use their eyes and their ears to collect details that they can use to bring their characters to life. Like many writers I keep a notebook where I squirrel away ideas and observations that may find their way into a story. I am particularly fond of recording snippets of conversation that I hear during the day. 

For example, earlier this week I was walking into the Panera restaurant (one of my favorite collecting spots) in Uniontown. I held the door for a couple who appeared to be in their mid sixties. The man said "You shouldn't let her get under your skin...cut her some slack...after all she is eighty two." The woman's sharp reply was "Well then I guess she's been eighty two for the last 40 damn years!"

I'm not sure how but I am sure at some time in the future this couple may appear in one of my pieces. Other artists have to go to the art supply shop for their materials, we writers can find everything we need where ever we go. The problem is our materials degrade very rapidly if they are not stored properly. Keeping a pocket memo book or carrying a journal allows a writer to trap these elusive gems of human existence and to store theme for future reference. 

Remember, eavesdropping is rude, but if you're a writer, its not eavesdropping, its research!

Let us know what you think. Please use the comments section of this blog to share your thoughts on this or any other writing related subject.

Keep writing! Thanks--LVW              

You are a writer

"If you want to write, you can. Fear stops most people from writing, not lack of talent, whatever that is. Who am I? What right do I have to speak? Who will listen to me if I do? You are a human being, with a unique story to tell, and you have every right. If you speak with passion, many of us will listen. We all need stories to live, all of us. We live by story. Yours enlarges the circle."--from How to Write Advice and Reflections by Richard Rhodes

A bit of encouragement from your fellow writers.

Welcome to the Ligonier Valley Writers Blog

Welcome to the Ligonier Valley Writers blog. The LVW was formed to provide encouragement and support to local writers. Throughout the year the LVW sponsors writing contests and writing workshops as well as a nationally respected writing conference each summer. The Loyalhanna Review, published annually by the LVW provides local writers, artists and photographers with a high quality showcase for their work. This blog is intended to be another tool we can use to support local authors and artists.

This blog will offer information of interest to local writers and readers. A number of LVW member will be contributing to this effort and we hope you will share your comments as well. Much like an author sitting down to write a novel, we don't exactly know where this work will takes us but we hope you will come along for the ride.

Thanks for reading and for your support.